Intramural accident puts nursing student’s skills to the test

What seemed to be an ordinary extracurricular activity on Feb. 19 turned out to be an opportunity for a student to practice the skills he strives to hone in the classroom.

Matt Horton, cell/molecular biology senior, was elbowed in the face by an opponent during an intramural basketball game. Horton said the incident chipped his front tooth in half and punctured a hole through his lower lip.

The opponent’s elbow also was bleeding, Horton said.

“He was apologizing profusely,” he said.

Adrean Indolos, nursing junior, who played on Horton’s team, took Horton and his opponent to the athletic trainer’s room. Other players joined.

Indolos used packs of ice, hydrogen peroxide and bandages to help Horton, as another student tended to cleaning the opponent’s elbow, he said.

“My nursing instincts just sort of kicked in,” Indolos said. “We found Matt’s tooth and put it in a bag.”

Horton spent the rest of the day in the hospital. He received stitches and underwent surgery the next morning.

“I’m now relatively normal, aside from the swollen lip and stitches,” Horton said.

Indolos said he was proud to help his teammate.

“It was very cool for me,” he said. “It was a personal testimony of how well Kramer has trained me.”